The Pittsburgh Steelers parted ways with their center Mason Cole during this offseason, seemingly to improve the middle of their offensive line.
However, the Steelers did not sign a new center in free agency in March. As a result, instead of an improvement, the Steelers now have a significant gap in the middle of their offensive line.
In order to avoid carrying that gap into the NFL draft, SB Nation’s Behind the Steel Curtain’s Kate Magdzuik argued that the Steelers should re-sign Cole as “an insurance policy.”
“At present, the Steelers do not have a genuine center under contract at all, let alone a suitable starting option,” Magdzuik wrote. “The free agent market has completely dried up — a market in which several experienced centers were available.
“There’s something to be said for a certain level of familiarity and comfort on both the part of Cole and the Steelers coaching staff here. Almost all available free agent centers at this point have similar concerns about pass blocking… so why not stick with the guy you already know?”
Including the postseason, Cole was the starter for 35 games for the Steelers in the last two seasons. He performed well in 2022. However, in the last season, he had difficulties in pass protection and with snapping the ball.
Cole is as familiar with the Steelers as any NFL team. His 35 starts with Pittsburgh are more than for any other organization. He also started 32 games for the Arizona Cardinals from 2018-20 and 7 games for the Minnesota Vikings in 2021.
